Scot Wingo steps down as ChannelAdvisor CEO

E-commerce technology company ChannelAdvisor, which earlier this year overhauled its pricing policies in a bid to goose its disappointing revenue, has revamped its management team.

The Morrisville-based company announced Monday that co-founder and CEO Scot Wingo has been named executive chairman and has been succeeded as chief executive by David Spitz, who joined the company nearly a decade ago and has been president and chief operating officer since 2010.

During a conference call with analysts, Wingo called Spitz “a highly capable leader committed to the success of ChannelAdvisor. I ask you to join me in congratulating him on his new role.”

Wingo added that he was looking forward “to supporting David by continuing to track e-commerce trends and providing active input on ChannelAdvisor strategy and vision.”

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Spitz said that “the fundamentals driving our opportunities remain strong and I believe we are well-positioned to expand on the leadership position we have established in the marketplace.”

ChannelAdvisors shares plunged 54 percent in a single day in January after the company cautioned investors that fourth-quarter revenue would be disappointing. When the company issued its fourth-quarter results a few weeks later, Wingo said that although he still expects revenue to grow at least 20 percent a year over the long-term, this year’s revenue would fall short of that mark.

Company officials said Monday that 2015 will be a transition year in which the company focuses on larger, more lucrative customers. At the same time, it has instituted new policies that make it more selective about the small customers it’s willing to accept.

Spitz said that the strategy will enable “a faster trajectory to profitability,” but at the same time it could “weigh on near-term revenue growth.”

He also said that the new strategy will enable the company to operate with “a smaller, more senior sales force.” But he declined, when questioned by an analyst, to provide details on job cuts.

Reducing the sales force marks a turnabout for the company. In the past it was willing to forsake profits in exchange for accelerated growth by expanding its sales-and-marketing team.

On Monday the company announced that its first-quarter revenue rose 17 percent to $19.3 million.

Adjusted net income was a loss of $6.1million, or 24 cents per share, an improvement over a loss of $8.7 million a year ago. Analysts were expecting a loss of 35 cents per share, according to Bloomberg News.

“We’re making progress on our path to profitability,” Wingo said.

The company released its first-quarter results after the markets closed Monday. Earlier, its shares closed at $10.02, up 14 cents. Its shares are down 54 percent this year; the company went public at $14 a share in May 2013.

ChannelAdvisor’s cloud-based software enables retailers to integrate and manage online sales across a multitude of sales channels. Retailers also use its software to automatically advertise products on search engines such as Google and Yahoo and to promote products on Facebook.

In conjunction with his promotion, Spitz’s annual base salary was raised from $320,000 to $365,000 and he received 250,000 shares of restricted stock as well as 250,000 stock options, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He also was appointed to ChannelAdvisor’s board of directors, which has expanded from six to seven members.